Rapid pH change during Water Changes

[mmcguffi]

So my tank is usually sits around 7.9 and when I do WCs I mix with high surface agitation (pretty much a waterfall) for a few hours. I assume this bumps the pH up higher than 7.9.

 

Would this be bad bumping the pH up within the matter of a few min?

[malawian]

assume makes an ass of u and me

 

dont assume anything

 

but yes a pH boost over a short time can be harmful to some creatures, but i doubt youre doing much to it. test it before and after if you think it is.

[sean151]

So my tank is usually sits around 7.9 and when I do WCs I mix with high surface agitation (pretty much a waterfall) for a few hours. I assume this bumps the pH up higher than 7.9.

 

Would this be bad bumping the pH up within the matter of a few min?

PH bumps related to CO2 are not the bumps you are really afraid of. It's the PH relationship with CA and ALK related ions that mess with livestock the worst. Also it's more than likely than not that 7.9-8.1 is around what your PH is at during it's highest with almost every salt during the winter.

Question though, why are you allowing this to happen for hours? Water changes should rarely take more than a half hour on most tanks.

[gabe_j]

PH bumps related to CO2 are not the bumps you are really afraid of. It's the PH relationship with CA and ALK related ions that mess with livestock the worst. Also it's more than likely than not that 7.9-8.1 is around what your PH is at during it's highest with almost every salt during the winter.

Question though, why are you allowing this to happen for hours? Water changes should rarely take more than a half hour on most tanks.

 

 

true story. if your ph in your mix water and your tank water are equal or even pretty darn close. depending on how much water you swap out your not going to shift it much. .1 or so i don't think is a problem. now if you start swinging .4-1 yeah you may have an issue but then odds are you're not trying to balance the two, and that's a whole seperate problem.

 

personally i turn off all pumps use a baster to "push" any ditritus into 1 corner and siphon it all out. 5 gallons out 5 gallons in. it takes me all of 10 minutes or so.

 

if your that worried about surface aggitation why not just aim a powerhead at the surface to help break it up? seems more efficient than trying to splash water into your tank to accomplish the same thing.

[lakshwadeep]

If your pH is changing significantly during a water change (assuming you've matched the pH of the tank/mix water), then the tank's regular aeration (i.e. powerheads) is not enough.